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South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

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2022
2018
South Carolina's 6th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 30, 2020
Primary: June 9, 2020
Primary runoff: June 23, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
James Clyburn (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in South Carolina
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
South Carolina's 6th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
South Carolina elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 6th Congressional District of South Carolina, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent James Clyburn won election in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 30, 2020
June 9, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat James Clyburn, who was first elected in 1992.

South Carolina's 6th Congressional District is located in the central and southern portions of the state and includes Allendale, Bamberg, Calhoun, Clarendon, Hampton, Jasper, and Williamsburg counties. The district also includes areas of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Florence, Orangeburg, Richland, and Sumter counties.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, South Carolina's 6th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 67 68.2
Republican candidate Republican Party 31.8 30.8
Difference 35.2 37.4

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

South Carolina modified its absentee/mail-in and in-person voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Any eligible voter could request an absentee ballot for the general election. Return postage for all mailed absentee ballots was prepaid.
  • In-person voting: In-person absentee voting was authorized to begin on October 5, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn defeated John McCollum and Mark Hackett in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of James Clyburn
James Clyburn (D)
 
68.2
 
197,477
Image of John McCollum
John McCollum (R) Candidate Connection
 
30.8
 
89,258
Image of Mark Hackett
Mark Hackett (Constitution Party)
 
0.9
 
2,646
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
272

Total votes: 289,653
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent James Clyburn advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. John McCollum advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6.

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Mark Hackett advanced from the Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on January 11, 2020.

Candidate
Image of Mark Hackett
Mark Hackett (Constitution Party)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 46 South Carolina counties—10.9 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Barnwell County, South Carolina 5.16% 5.33% 1.65%
Calhoun County, South Carolina 2.83% 4.31% 3.55%
Chester County, South Carolina 4.83% 10.58% 8.30%
Colleton County, South Carolina 8.49% 0.19% 0.53%
McCormick County, South Carolina 3.32% 3.60% 6.08%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won South Carolina with 54.9 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 40.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, South Carolina cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 53.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, South Carolina supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. South Carolina favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in South Carolina. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns show the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns show the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 39 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 38 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 28.3 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 85 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 28.7 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 86 out of 124 state House districts in South Carolina with an average margin of victory of 30.1 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+19, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made South Carolina's 6th Congressional District the 67th most Democratic nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.94. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.94 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
James Clyburn Democratic Party $3,447,751 $2,372,934 $1,980,495 As of December 31, 2020
John McCollum Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Mark Hackett Constitution Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 6th Congressional District candidates in South Carolina in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
South Carolina 6th Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 6th Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source

District election history

2018

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn defeated Gerhard Gressmann and Bryan Pugh in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of James Clyburn
James Clyburn (D)
 
70.1
 
144,765
Image of Gerhard Gressmann
Gerhard Gressmann (R)
 
28.2
 
58,282
Image of Bryan Pugh
Bryan Pugh (G)
 
1.6
 
3,214
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
172

Total votes: 206,433
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Incumbent James Clyburn advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 12, 2018.

Candidate
Image of James Clyburn
James Clyburn

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6

Gerhard Gressmann advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 6 on June 12, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Gerhard Gressmann
Gerhard Gressmann

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent James Clyburn (D) defeated Laura Sterling (R), Rick Piotrowski (Libertarian), and Prince Charles Mallory (Green) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent.[12]

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJames Clyburn Incumbent 70.1% 177,947
     Republican Laura Sterling 27.6% 70,099
     Libertarian Rick Piotrowski 1.2% 3,131
     Green Prince Charles Mallory 1% 2,499
     N/A Write-in 0.1% 225
Total Votes 253,901
Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

2014

See also: South Carolina's 6th Congressional District elections, 2014

Incumbent James Clyburn won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeated Anthony Culler (R) and Kevin Umbaugh (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 6 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJames Clyburn Incumbent 72.5% 125,747
     Republican Anthony Culler 25.5% 44,311
     Libertarian Kevin Umbaugh 1.8% 3,176
     N/A Write-in 0.1% 198
Total Votes 173,432
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
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Republican Party (8)
Democratic Party (1)